Recently, I stopped in at a local bakery to get a bagel. I asked the young woman behind the counter for a toasted wheat bagel served on a plate with a pat of butter on the side. Nothing complicated. Then I went to the register to pay for my bagel while it was being prepared.
When I walked back to the counter to pick up my order, I saw a toasted bagel sitting on the prep table, but the person who had been preparing my breakfast had disappeared. Presently, she came back to finish it.
What I got was a wheat bagel, toasted, smeared with cream cheese and wrapped in aluminum foil as a to-go order. Not quite what I ordered.
Let’s look at how much of my order she got right: a wheat bagel (yes), toasted (yes), served on a plate so I could enjoy it on the premises (no), with a pat of butter on the side (not just no, but perhaps, the very opposite of what I ordered). Now let’s be generous and say she got 50% of my order correct. In the restaurant business, is that good enough? Is it good enough for any business?
What if this was a large business-to-business transaction instead of a single customer doing business with a small store? Is there a difference? What would be the chances of repeat business in either case?
I think she got my order wrong for several reasons: She didn’t repeat my order back to me. She didn’t write anything down. She left what she was doing (distraction) and then came back to finish it. And finally, when she delivered it—she didn’t take the time to confirm the correctness of my order.
Any of those things could have sidelined my order, but her distraction was the main culprit. When she left the order halfway done and then returned to finish it, it was … well … finished. That’s the sad, potent power of a distraction. Overall, I think she gave my simple order 50% effort and delivered, I’d say, 40% of the desired results.
Bobby Flay, celebrity chef, Food Network regular, owner of several restaurants and author of lots of cookbooks, once said something during one of his shows that has stuck with me. When asked what’s really important when it comes to cooking, Flay replied:
“There is no substitute for paying attention.”
In business, too, there is no substitute for paying attention. There’s no substitute for being plugged in to what is going on in your office and in your field. In short: You have to be present in the moment—every moment. You have to silence your “swarm” to get it right. And to get it right, you gotta focus.
Next time, I’ll talk about what happens (important, profitable things!) when you do pay attention.
“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”— Mary Oliver, poet.
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